


change begets change

by creampuffs



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Denial, F/F, Feelings Realization, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 15:58:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12868023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creampuffs/pseuds/creampuffs
Summary: In the wake of all that changes after Croix's missile, there is one certain change that Diana takes a much longer time to understand and accept. Fortunately for her, Akko is there to help speed things along.





	change begets change

The weeks that came to pass after Croix's missile crisis were a blur of nonstop media activity. Even before the girls landed, the tremors could be felt all over the world as the press went wild, the magic community began talking over itself, and government officials began the tedious task of attempting to calm the outraged public. The news about how a ragtag group of young witches prevented the country from complete obliteration was spread like wildfire, and with it came the slow change of public opinion regarding magic. TV specials aired and repeated shot-by-shot scenes of how the girls dramatically ascended to the skies, with hosts talking animatedly about the skill, courage, and guts needed to complete such a daunting task. It was clear that there was a huge social whirlwind brewing about it all, and people everywhere suddenly had something to say about the tremendously strange and extraordinary event.

Yet somehow, beyond the stone walls and castle corridors, Diana found that life back at Luna Nova remained remarkably...unchanged.

There was the initial bout of astonished classmates and excited chatter about their return but eventually, and like all things, time paused for no one and continued its relentless march forward. Classes resumed, exams came and went, flowers bloomed in the gardens outside, and students quickly became reabsorbed in the drama of their own personal lives.

Which was fine, frankly. Diana never particularly enjoyed the lingering gazes of her classmates, even if they were cast in adoration. Perhaps _especially_ if they were cast in adoration. She could barely sometimes tolerate Hannah and Barbara's constant praise, let alone the effusive words of a stranger.

She resumed her classwork as diligently as ever, and felt the constant and firm weight of relief that Akko's intervention had permitted her a chance to finish her studies at the academy. In fact, she found herself thinking about Akko with more and more frequency these days, enough to warrant a mild degree of concern. She initially dismissed it as a result of their newly developed friendship, and considering how dizzying it was to try and keep track of all the dangers she got herself into on a daily basis, it was also entirely possible that she simply thought of her often out of concern. Whatever the reason was for her behavior, it made for a few rather awkward situations when Akko approached her wanting to spend time together, as she began to reflexively decline. She found it far easier to interact with her when they were surrounded by their friends, and so she naturally planned to keep it that way. To be honest, she felt ill-equipped to deal with the persistence in which her mind wandered towards thoughts of her, whether they be about her bravery, her passion, her fortitude, her tendency for disaster, the softness of her hair or any other multitude of things that made Akko so uniquely Akko. Goodness, she felt occupied enough fretting over all the potential explanations for the mysterious condition she was experiencing. There was simply no way she could spend time alone with Akko until she could properly diagnose and conduct herself appropriately.

Most people didn't know, but Diana struggled quite a bit with sincere expressions of emotion. They were...intimidating affairs, and required a very careful, very delicate, and incredibly proper hand. Not to say that she didn't feel qualified in any of those regards, but juggling so many particular pieces with an exacting eye was no easy feat. Heavens knew there was nothing more embarrassing than an unexpected and offensive show of emotion, or even a messy and public display of affection. She only found herself capable of them during times of great need, or when there was simply no moment to waste on fretting over propriety.

However, in light of her recently expanded social circle, Diana found there were ample opportunities to better train this aspect of herself. In fact, watching her peers and friends helped her realize the wide variety of...communication styles available. Spending time with them was useful, and she felt herself unwinding just a bit more with each get together. Besides, it was always enjoyable. It was with this thought in mind that she made her way to the field outside, ready to join Akko and the others in yet another training session on their brooms that afternoon.

As she walked over the hill, she could see the silhouettes of Lotte, Sucy, and Akko in the air, all seated on their brooms. "Hey, it's Diana!" Diana waved gently back to the excited brunette, her quiet cheer immediately squashed by concern as she realized that Akko was waving with both her hands in the air. Meaning of course, there were _zero_ hands on the broom. "Akko, please! You need both hands on the broom or you'll fall!" Lotte's strangled exclamation came a moment too late, and Diana watched with wide eyes as Akko slipped forward....

...and smacked her head squarely onto the wooden face of her broom.

"Agh!!!"

She didn't need to be in the air to hear Sucy's dark chuckle, but she flew up quickly on her own broom to assess the damage. Akko's eyes watered intensely as she cradled her face, and Diana winced as she noted the shape of a dark bruise beginning to take form. "Hey, Akko. I might have a potion that can make that go away." Sucy flew in close, prodding at the aforementioned space between her eyes with her pointer finger. "Maybe it can even make your forehead less huge." Akko yelped, high pitched and pained before clutching her face defensively. "No way! I don't want your stupid mushrooms! And my forehead is NOT that big! Besides, anytime you offer to help me with potions, things always get really...really weird. Or I get detention. Or both!"

The pink haired girl shrugged, rolling her single exposed eye before beginning her slow descent back to the ground. "Suit yourself." The three girls watched as she dismounted, and Akko shouted back down to her, hand still covering the bridge of her nose. "Where are you going? Wait, you're not really mad at me, are you?" Rummaging around with a hand in her sleeve, Sucy eventually produced a small magenta mushroom from her robe and smiled, sharp and devious. "That purplish color on your face reminded me that I left a very special treat brewing in our room. It's almost time." Diana snuck a quick glance to her left and caught Lotte's deeply skeptical and nervous expression, and the three of them watched in silence as Sucy slinked back to the school. "...e-eh, that didn't sound good at all, did it? She _did_ say it was in our room, right? I think I'm going to...go back and check to make sure everything's really okay..."

Diana nodded, finally taking the time to speak. "Yes, that would be wise. I can take Akko to the nurses office." Lotte beamed, grateful for the offer. "That would be really helpful, Diana! Thank you!" From between them, Akko huffed loudly. "Wait, but what about my training?! Is everyone forgetting why we came here today? It doesn't even hurt that bad, look!" Both girls turned to face her as she pulled her hand away and before she could stop herself, Diana made a small noise of disapproval. "Akko...your nose is bleeding." One embarrassed squawk later, Akko was eventually convinced that training would resume another day and Lotte quickly dismounted to scurry back to the school.

Back on the ground, Diana promptly produced a handkerchief for Akko to staunch the bleeding and began heading towards the nurses office, fully expecting the other girl to follow. "Wait, Diana, I uh...can we not go to the nurses office?" Slightly exasperated but mostly confused and concerned for her welfare, she stopped mid-step and turned to address her. "But what of your face...?" Akko laughed awkwardly as she used Diana's hand-embroidered, powder blue handkerchief to cover her nose. "Um...well...we're kinda not on the greatest terms. Like, I'd say, maybe, she might be...a little mad at me? It's totally not professional! All I did was borrow some supplies for Constanze's experiment, and it was kind of for science, kind of for magic, mostly for curiosity sake and also the growing bond of friendship but anyway she's a nurse, and aren't nurses supposed to be _calm_ and _forgiving_ and-"

"-is there anyone on campus that doesn't want to put you in detention?" Akko laughed uneasily. "You? And...Professor Ursula?" Diana raised a hand to her temple and sighed. "Very well. Take a seat by that nearby tree and I'll have to see what I can do." It was hard to explain but being around Akko had a tendency to throw her mind into a disarray. There was no reason for her to feel jumpy or snippy, and she knew if it was any of their other friends in Akko's position, she would be calmer and kinder. Even when she wasn't bleeding profusely from her nose with a bruise swelling between her eyes, Akko was unintentionally making Diana react and behave in strange ways, and she sincerely hoped the other girl wasn't noticing the change in her behavior. It was only until recently that this had become a problem after all, and prior to this current dilemma, she was rather enjoying a relaxed friendship with the other girl. It was frustrating as to what changed and why, and while Diana had her personal theories, none of them felt particularly comforting.

"Yes ma'am!" Akko marched towards the tree and Diana followed, quietly racking her mind for a technique or a family spell she could use to treat swollen and inflamed skin. Akko plopped down unceremoniously at the foot of the tree and awaited further instruction. Finally deciding on a spell, Diana gingerly sat beside her with her back to the tree. Nervously clearing her throat, she smoothed out the front of her skirt. "I'm afraid you'll have to be laying down for this to work." Of all the things she expected would happen next, what she couldn't have planned for was Akko's head on her lap mere seconds later. "Like this? Oh man, I hope I don't get blood on your skirt..."

Was it more difficult or easier to see someones blush when looking at them upside down? Diana sincerely hoped Akko couldn't see the flush on her face as she tried her best to compose herself. "I--well, yes, that will do," she trailed off lamely as Akko fidgeted to get more comfortable. "Okay, what's next? Is a super secret family spell? Has it been passed down for generations and generations?" Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, it was hard to remember that Akko had been in intense pain just moments ago when she was now laying beneath her with such a wide and excited smile. Furthermore, trying to recall and perform the exact words with all the nuances of the spell was going to be a challenge when she was laying down so warmly and so...fully on her lap. She could feel the heat and weight of Akko's head against her thigh, and realized with great dismay, that she was never so acutely aware of her own body. Internally praying that her hands weren't too clammy, she raised them and hovered over the angry bruise on her forehead. "May I...?" Akko nodded firmly, small smile still in place and made all the sillier with a bloodied kerchief positioned right above it. Diana tentatively placed the tips of her fingers against the bruise, and applied gentle pressure.

 _"Insaid Acetoremus,"_ The green glow emanated slowly from her fingers and Akko reflexively shut her eyes against the light. Diana could feel the familiar warmth in her stomach that happened whenever she cast healing magic, and the heat of it unfurled slowly as she watched her work with a careful eye. The purplish bruise began to recede ever so slowly, and beneath her, Akko released an appreciative hum that threatened to break her concentration entirely. "It feels so nice," she muttered, "tingly and warm..." Diana swallowed thickly, trying to keep her attention fixed on the fading bruise. She couldn't help but catch a glimpse of Akko's face though, and noticed with a note of despair that Akko appeared to be unbelievably...endearing.

Oh dear.

"You know, even though my face really hurt from that accident, I'm kind of glad we're spending this time together. I was beginning to think you were mad at me or something..." Slowly, her eyes cracked open and Diana found herself confronted with Akko's bright stare. Concentrating had never been more difficult than it was in that moment. Nevertheless, her statement was an important and inaccurate one, and she felt the need to say something. Before she could get a word in though, Akko continued. "I thought we got closer after that crazy missile fiasco, but I don't know, for a while it kind of felt like you didn't want to hang out with me anymore," she looked to the side, her smile wavering. The earlier warmth in her stomach suddenly failed to feel comforting, and Diana winced at the realization that her unexpected change in behavior somehow led Akko to think she disliked her. At this rate, it couldn't be further from the truth.

"I apologize, that..." she fumbled uncharacteristically to complete the sentence, unsure of what words could be strung together to diffuse the situation, "...that simply wasn't my intention." Yes, that sentence could work. That was succinct. Unfortunately vague, but succinct! Akko blinked owlishly up at her and Diana raised an eyebrow in return, attempting to appear confident about her reply. As if to save her from an unpleasant interrogation, the green glow of the spell finally began to ebb away, and Diana realized with a note of satisfaction that despite the stressful distractions, the skin healed quite nicely. "My apologies that it took so long, but it appears that the bruise will no longer be a problem. Are you feeling alright?"

Akko reached up to touch her forehead, momentarily brushing against Diana's own fingers. "Whoops, sorry, but wow! The bump is gone and it's not sore anymore! You did an amazing job!" Startled from the unexpected touch, Diana almost forgot to respond. "...well as you know, it would be an embarrassment for a Cavendish to fail in a healing spell as simple as this one." Akko snorted inelegantly before beaming up at her. "That's so like you." There it was again, the unexpected blush on her part. There was no mistaking it now. In fact, it would be an embarrassment for a Cavendish to continue to be such a dense idiot about what was very clearly happening.

Mercifully, Akko finally sat up and true to her nature, proceeded to change conversational gears with little warning. "I know! If you're really not mad at me, then you'll watch the premiere of Kakumei Mahoka with me! It's airing tomorrow. And it's after dinner so you wont even be in class. And tomorrow's a Friday so you don't even have to do all your homework that night!" Diana felt herself breaking into a cold sweat with the distinct realization that this situation would be impossible to get out of. Especially if she didn't want to risk Akko's feelings being hurt. Hiding her panic, she instead dryly responded, "Perhaps it would shock you to realize that not everyone rushes to do all their homework the evening before it it is due." Akko inched closer and reached out to firmly grasp her hand, swiftly setting off all sorts of alarms in Diana's head. "Then?! You're in, right?" Nodding weakly, Diana realized that twenty-four hours was a paltry amount of time to calculate and plan for all the potentially embarrassing things she might say, do, or imply in Akko's presence. "Very well, I'll be there." Akko shot up, whooping, and waved the kerchief in the air.

As the two of them began walking back to the school, Diana found herself both amused and exasperated with the slow understanding that there would be no amount of studying or academic savvy that could adequately prepare her for how to be in love with Atsuko Kagari.

**Author's Note:**

> just finished this beautiful show and I wanted to try these voices out! :' )


End file.
